Pomona II: Jeg Coughlin Thursday summary

Coughlin fifth after opening round of season finale
Three-time NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin raced to the No. 5 position in the Day 1
field of the 41st annual Auto Club of Southern California. The year-ending race
presents the final chance for ...

Coughlin fifth after opening round of season finale

Three-time NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin raced to the No. 5 position in the Day 1
field of the 41st annual Auto Club of Southern California. The year-ending race
presents the final chance for drivers to show their stuff before the off-season
and Coughlin took full advantage of the situation, posting a 6.719 at 205.41 mph
while many others struggled.

Due to local noise restrictions, the race format in Pomona calls for one
qualifying session Thursday, one Friday, and two more Saturday. That's good news
for Coughlin as there will not be one lights-out nighttime session that could
drastically upset the order.

"I think all the guys that struggled today will get quicker but there's every
reason to think we'll be right there with them," Coughlin said. "The track was
very green when we got out there and Bob (Glidden, tuner) and the guys did a
good job of setting this Jeg's Mail Order Dodge Stratus R/T up for what the
track could hold.

"It was a nice smooth run but I feel like we can go quicker, especially as more
rubber gets put down out there. We've had some great successes here before and
we'd love to add to that this weekend. We're off to a good start."

Coughlin has won four times at historic Pomona Raceway and has three runner-up
finishes here as well. Overall, the two-time Pro Stock champion has 45 national
event wins, 33 of which came in Pro Stock, making this one of his best tracks.